


Until We Meet Again

by KrysKrossZee



Series: Not A Goodbye [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Cheating, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Cheating, M/M, Not Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Compliant, POV Male Character, POV Third Person, Quidditch
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:55:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24109342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KrysKrossZee/pseuds/KrysKrossZee
Summary: It's been over 25 years since Percy last saw Oliver, and although he's built a life for himself, his feelings haven't changed at all. The question remains, is he ready to throw that whole life away for the boy - now man - who has his heart?
Relationships: Audrey Weasley/Percy Weasley, Percy Weasley/Oliver Wood
Series: Not A Goodbye [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1739446
Comments: 12
Kudos: 21





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is part of the Pet Project series, but also a sequel to my oneshot "Are You Blushing?" though it's not necessary to read that fic (or any of the Pet Project series) in order to understand this.
> 
> If you do enjoy this story, please do check out my other works though!
> 
> Thanks again to my betas SethWren and Iconic-Princess.

Percy straightened his tie as he looked at himself in the bathroom mirror. He didn't want to be here, especially not like this, but the rest of his family seemed to think that a reunion was a good idea and he'd had to come along to support George.

He ran his fingers through his thinning hair as he stared at his reflection in the mirror. Even though it was hard to believe that it had been 25 years since they'd fought in the Battle of Hogwarts, it definitely looked like it had been that long for him. He couldn't complain though, not really, even if that was all that he wanted to do today.

He cleared his throat as he gave himself a small shake and headed out of the bathroom. She was still hanging around the buffet table; Penelope Clearwater. He had nothing against her, except that she could talk the backside off a hippogriff and he really didn't want to hear anymore about her charming life with her charming husband and her three charming sons.

His own life wasn't something to snub one's nose at, even if it wasn't exactly where he had once thought he'd end up, but it wasn't as if he was actually getting to talk to her about his job at the Ministry, his own wife, or his two daughters. She just wanted to gloat, it would seem.

He wondered briefly if she had been trying to make him jealous, but that thought quickly skipped out of his head when he caught sight of who his little sister was talking to. His first reaction was to feel sick to his stomach but then he caught the man's gaze and that feeling left in a flash. He took a slow and steady breath before he let himself join Ginny and the man who still had his heart, even after all this time.

Oliver Wood extended a hand to shake in a way that seemed far too formal but it wasn't as if Percy could actually do anything other than accept without looking anything other than suspicious. He gave the other man a smile as he stood beside Ginny, trying to ignore the instinct to hide behind her. He was a grown man, he could cope with a simple conversation.

"Long time, no see Perce." Oliver greeted him and Percy only just about managed not to roll his eyes at the use of the nickname he despised. It had always rolled off of Oliver's tongue so easily though and Percy had found that both annoying and adorable in equal parts.

"You're looking well." Percy managed to make himself say in his attempt to be normal, though of course the words came out all weird when he realised just what he was saying.

Ginny however just rolled her eyes at the pair of them. "Oliver was just telling me that he's been asked to coach for Puddlemere."

Percy blinked slowly. It was weird to think that the last time he had properly seen and spoken to Oliver was when he was off to train to become a professional Quidditch player and now here they both were as adults. "That's.. Congratulations." He managed to say as it started to sink in just how much time had passed them by since they had last spent any time together.

"Thank you." Oliver flashed him that cheeky grin that he had so missed and even though Percy knew that they both needed to talk, to actually air out everything that had happened over the last 25 years, it was as if no time had passed at all in that moment.

Percy managed to add to the conversation a little after that point, even though the only Quidditch matches he had attended lately were Ginny's. He had mainly phased out of the wizarding world, after all. He still had his job and his family as ties, but mainly he was happy to live in the muggle world.

Eventually, Ginny left them as she was called over by Ron to talk to someone else. This was both good and bad. Percy had dreamt of being reunited with Oliver almost every night since the two of them had parted ways many moons ago. He could only stand there and stare at Oliver, in a way that he knew would probably look creepy if anyone were to look over in their direction, but without Ginny there as a buffer, he didn't seem to know how to speak.

"Your wife isn't here?" Oliver asked in the end, breaking the silence and snapping Percy out of his thoughts momentarily.

“Uh, no. She’s a muggle.” He said as if that would explain why Audrey wasn’t there, and it did if they ignored the fact that other people had brought their muggle partners. The truth was that Audrey was not a fan of magic and had opted to avoid the reunion gathering. He couldn’t blame her but at the same time, he would have preferred to have had her there by his side. He paused for a beat. “And you?”

As far as he knew, Oliver wasn’t married. He tended not to read the gossip columns so he had no idea if the other man was even seeing anyone. He didn’t think that he wanted to know though. Part of him liked to hold onto the idea that they might still have a chance - even if he was married with children now.

“No, I’m here alone.”

It was the answer that Percy had wanted to hear but at the same time, those very words terrified him. He drew in a slow breath, his eyes fixed on Oliver’s as he tried to steady his heart that was racing on at a mile a minute. He wanted to say something but he had no idea how he was meant to form words just then, let alone what he was even meant to say.

“Want to take a walk?” Oliver asked after a few more beats and all that Percy could do was nod. Being here had dredged up so much of the past, and he’d been prepared for that, but he hadn’t been prepared for his past with Oliver to also make an appearance.

Oliver led the way out of the Great Hall and into the castle grounds where Percy fell into stride beside him. Percy’s fingers inched of their own accord towards Oliver’s but he quickly clasped his hands in front of him to stop him from doing anything that he might regret.

“I’m happy for you Perce.” Oliver was the one that broke the silence again. “I’m happy that you managed to be happy.” His tone backed up his words, but as Percy glanced sideways at the man, he saw something there behind his eyes that he didn’t know how to read.

“I’ve missed you.” Percy said eventually as he managed to make his words leave his mouth. “I’ve really missed you.”

Oliver stopped in his tracks and turned to face him, his head tilted ever-so-slightly to the side. “You - what?” His look of surprise was all too apparent on his face and Percy couldn’t help but feel like that was a stab to his gut.

“I told you that it was ‘until we meet again’, didn’t I?” He said softly as he reached up to touch Oliver’s cheek, his fingers running over his skin gently.

“You’re married, Perce.” Oliver whispered, though Percy was happy to note that the other man was leaning into his touch ever-so-slightly.

“And I love Audrey, I do. But she’s not you.” Percy whispered back, his eyes staying fixed on Oliver’s. He didn’t know what he was doing. Oliver was right, he was married, and that wouldn’t change just because Oliver had come back into his life, but it didn’t seem to matter in that moment.

“And who I am is not a homewrecker.” Oliver said quietly. He then turned his head to press a kiss against Percy’s palm before he slowly pulled away. “So until we meet again.” He said before he turned on his heel and walked away, leaving Percy standing there in the middle of the courtyard.

He watched Oliver go. He had to. Even though every single fibre of his being was screaming at him to follow after him, to wrap his arms around the Scottish Quidditch player and kiss him senseless. He couldn’t do that. Not until he’d had a very serious conversation with Audrey at the very least.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver deals with the aftermath of seeing Percy again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think of this chapter!
> 
> Thanks to my betas SethWren and Iconic-Princess!

Oliver threw his shoe across the room as he took it off. He was angry, though what in particular he was angry with, he didn't know. The reunion had been a bad idea, but he hadn't known that before attending. It had sounded like a good idea, a good chance to reconnect with old teammates and old friends, but he hadn't counted on seeing Percy there, or for the feelings that had come flooding back as he'd come face to face with the man he had once enjoyed winding up so very much.

He knew he shouldn't have suggested that they go off alone. He knew that Percy was still married to Audrey and that it was a completely stupid idea in the first place. And he was horrified when Percy had told him that he loved Audrey but that he still loved him. Horrified, but it had caused something to bubble up inside of his chest, something that he really wished he could understand.

He took his other shoe off in a more controlled manner and retrieved the other one before placing them both by the front door. He lived alone so it wasn't as if he had to worry about keeping his flat tidy for anyone else, but he was a firm believer of everything having its place and he liked to keep some sort of order.

He rubbed a hand over his face as he tried to figure out whether he was still hungry or if he should just head straight to bed. He didn't know if he'd be able to sleep with all the thoughts that were swirling around in his head, but he had training to run in the morning and it was already way past midnight.

Bed won in the end and he let himself climb under the sheets, only stripping off when he was sure he would be warm enough. That was the downside of living alone; there was no-one there to hold you in the night. He hadn't been alone for the whole time since leaving Hogwarts, but his previous boyfriends had never worked out.

He let out a groan and pulled his pillow down to hug to his chest as he realised what Percy had been saying. Audrey wasn't him, and none of his previous boyfriends were Percy.

He hated it when Percy was right, even if that wasn't an experience he had had since their school days. That feeling of annoyance hadn't dulled any at all, and surprisingly he had kind of missed it. He let out a sigh as he closed his eyes and tried to push all thoughts of the day away. He had no idea how he was meant to do that but he had to try.

Practice the next day was awful. His team seemed to be off their game and he had to wonder if that was down to him or if there was more to it. He supposed that some of them had been at the reunion themselves, and he'd actually left early, all things considered, so it made sense that they were off their game, but part of him wanted to blame Percy. It made sense for it to be Percy's fault. He  _ needed  _ it to be Percy's fault.

Halfway through the scheduled practice, he told the team to hit the showers. There was no point in having them run drills when it was clearly doing more harm than good.

He ran his fingers through his hair as he looked out at the now empty pitch. There had been a time not so long ago when he'd been able to convince himself that Quidditch was all that he needed in his life. When he'd first heard about Percy's marriage to the muggle woman and then the births of their children, he'd told himself it was okay because Percy deserved to be happy. He'd promised himself that he'd be okay, because he had to be to let Percy be happy with someone that wasn't him.

That didn't mean that it didn't hurt like a papercut.

And to have seen Percy a split second away from throwing everything he had built since they'd parted ways? It had opened that wound up. It made him wonder if he should have abandoned the one constant in his life after the war ended and followed Percy into the muggle world.

He had considered it back then, and even been almost tempted by the idea, but he'd been just crazy enough to believe that Percy would eventually find his way back to him. He supposed he had been right. Percy  _ had  _ found him again. It just happened to be twenty-odd years later and a small voice kept trying to tell Oliver that it was in fact too late.

He attempted to lock that voice in a box in the corner of his mind as he entered the changing rooms once the team had dispersed. He knew that he could have just apparated home for a shower in his own flat but there was something about changing room showers that always seemed to calm him down - and he didn't particularly care how weird that sounded.

Once changed into his muggle clothes, Oliver headed to his favourite cafe for a spot of lunch. There was a waitress there that liked to flirt with him and although he really wasn't into girls even in the slightest, it was a nice little ego boost for him.

He clocked the dark-haired girl as he entered the cafe and after a quick survey of the area, he sat at his usual table. He wasn't looking for the ego boost today though, just the coffee and the food that she offered. As he swirled his coffee around his cup, he was reminded that he kind of needed to feel every moment of this in order to know what he was meant to do next.

Percy's promise that he was going to talk to Audrey kept playing over and over in his brain. He wanted to believe that Percy would actually follow through with actions, but he couldn't just let himself get hung up on a maybe, even if accepting that was like pouring vinegar on his papercut. He hated this. He'd thought that he'd put this chapter of his life behind him, but here he was again, with his head full of Percy Weasley.

He groaned as he eventually finished his panini and coffee. He had no excuse other than to go home now, but he didn't particularly want to do that. Home meant he would have nothing to do but sit with his own thoughts and obsess, and even though that was what he was currently doing there was something about doing it while completely alone that sounded even worse.

He ran his fingers through his hair after paying for his food and decided that a walk would probably be a better idea than going back to his flat. There was something about exercise that always seemed to help him clear his head, and even though he didn't particularly intend on going any faster than a leisurely pace, he still hoped that it would work. It probably didn't help his head that he'd drank quite a bit with his old teammates at the reunion, but that was mainly because he had been trying not to think about Percy and the words that they had exchanged.

He walked for a while with no real destination in mind, just the knowledge that he wanted to get as far away from his thoughts as possible. He didn't even notice it getting dark until the street lights flickered on and he realised that he was going to have to concede and go home. Fortunately, home was in a completely different country than Percy was, so he hoped that once he apparated to his flat up in Scotland he would be able to put his thoughts about the ginger haired man behind him.

As he collapsed onto his bed, he knew how much of an idiot he was. He stared up at his ceiling for a while, letting every single 'what if' swirl around inside of his brain to the point that he felt sick.

He couldn't do this again, he decided as he sat up and grabbed a pad of paper and a pen from his side table. He was too old for this uncertainty so he decided to write to Percy, even though he knew that he really shouldn't.

_ Hi Perce, _

_ I know that I have no right to say this but I can't get you out of my head. _

_ Can we meet again? _

_ Ollie _

He folded the page up as quickly as he could manage and handed it over to his owl before he had the chance to change his mind. He just needed to see Percy, that was the only thing that was going to help him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy bucks up the courage to talk to Audrey about Oliver.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to SethWren and Iconic-Princess for betaing.
> 
> Please let me know what you think of this chapter!

Percy groaned, his head in his hands as Audrey sat across from him, glaring at him in a way that reminded him of his mother's death glare - something that he hadn't been subject to in quite some time. He couldn't look at her, couldn't let himself see the look of pure anger that he was convinced was just one wrong answer away from hatred, even though he knew that he had deserved it. They'd been together for twenty-three years, married for nineteen, had two children together and yet all of that had been shattered the very second that Oliver Wood had walked back into his life.

He'd done what he thought was right and told her as soon as he had come home from the reunion. He'd told her that he'd seen Oliver and that it had taken a single moment for everything to come flooding back to him. He realised now that he maybe should have slept on it - that he probably shouldn't have woken her up at two in the morning to have this conversation but he was high on the adrenaline and the alcohol so it had seemed like a good idea at the time.

He'd sobered up somewhat now and he realised that this was probably something that could have waited until morning. He couldn't take it back now though. He couldn't take back the fact that he had just told his wife of two decades that he was in love with another man.

"You're delusional, Percy." She said eventually as she stood up from where she had been sitting on her side of the bed. “You can’t think that this is the best thing for anyone. You can’t think that you can just throw everything away just like that.”

“I’m not saying that it’s the best thing.” Percy said quietly as he forced himself to look up at Audrey. She deserved that at least, for him to give her his full attention while he broke their family up.

“Then don’t do this to us. Don’t do this to the kids.” Audrey’s voice was firm, her voice clear and somehow managing to cut through the fog that was filling his head, something that he was sure was caused by the alcohol. He supposed he wasn’t as sober as he had first thought.

“The kids will be fine.” Percy said quietly. His children were robust; in fact they were some of the most robust people that he had ever met. He was worried about them, and how they would take the fact that he had feelings for another man, but he knew they would eventually come to terms with it.

“Will they?" Audrey was on her feet now, her hands on her hips in a way that reminded him of his mother, though her face being contorted in the way that it was with her anger practically seeping out was nothing at all like his mother. "Molly's a trainwreck and when was the last time you actually had a conversation with Lucy?"

Percy stood up, shooting Audrey a glare of his own. His kids were important to him and he sure as hell wasn't going to let their own mother talk about them like that. "Good job they're at school and can't hear you talking about them like that." He said through gritted teeth.

"My point is that if you care about them at all, you won't do this. You won't leave me for another man." Audrey's voice was cold, her jaw set and it made Percy feel sick. He’d never pegged her for being one who would use his children against him, and yet here they were. And unfortunately he could see some logic to what she was saying.

“So what do you suggest then, Aud?” He asked quietly. He could feel his heart breaking all over again at the prospect of having to tell Oliver that his wife was not letting him leave her. “Because I can’t lose him again.” His voice broke at the end of his sentence.

Audrey blinked slowly at him and Percy realised that he was meant to know the answer already; it was meant to be obvious, but it wasn’t - at least not to him. “Go to sleep.” She said instead as she grabbed her dressing gown.

Twenty years of marriage told him that she was going out for a smoke, something that she only did when she was stressed out, and something that the kids definitely did not know about. They’d reprimanded Molly for the same thing already plenty of times.

He groaned as he fell onto the bed after she left. It had to be said that this was probably one of the biggest messes that he had ever gotten himself into, but it wasn’t as if he could just control his heart. He couldn’t control how he felt about Oliver; he had never been able to do that. Sure, he’d managed to suppress the same feelings for the last twenty-odd years, but that wasn’t the same as making them go away. He had no idea how he was meant to make those same feelings go away now when they had fought so hard to make their presence known.

He closed his eyes as he tried to ignore the birds that were now singing outside his window. He’d been clever enough to take today off of work, at least, so he didn’t need to worry about the fact that it was now morning and really he should have been getting up. He needed to sleep, but he didn’t think that sleep was going to come any time soon.

Percy lay in bed, half-dozing and half-stressing out, for a few hours until he could no longer bear lying still. He made himself a pot of tea once he made his way down to the kitchen - after showering the worries of last night off of himself - and decided to take himself into his study for the day.

It was Audrey’s day off and he really didn’t want to have to talk to her anymore. There was nothing else to be said anyway. She’d made her thoughts on the matter clear. He wasn’t going anywhere and that was that. She was right, he had to think of his children, though part of him wondered if they would really want him to be completely miserable.

He drank his tea as he put the wizarding wireless network on and listened to the ramblings of whatever presenter was on. He couldn’t really hear the words and he supposed that had a lot to do with the fact that he was hungover. His brain felt as though it were bouncing around inside his head and something told him that that wasn’t going to ease up any time soon, no matter how much tea he drank.

He just let him sit for a while, let himself relax in the big armchair that he and Audrey had thrifted from a charity shop during their newlywed years. It had seen it’s better days, like himself, but almost all of his happy family memories included this chair. With a sigh he realised that not all those memories included Audrey. Was that wrong? Should she have been in them all with him? They’d created this family together, hadn’t they? But she’d also tainted all the memories of her as soon as she had attempted to emotionally blackmail him so he wasn’t going to let himself feel too guilty about that.

At some point, he must have finally fallen asleep as the next thing he knew was that it was dark and there was a tapping at his window. He knew the tap to be an owl but in his groggy, sleepy state he didn’t think that he could be bothered answering any Ministry letters today. He’d taken the day off as a holiday after all and surely they could do without him for forty-eight hours.

He groaned as he got up - the tapping was only going to get on his already frayed nerves if he didn’t - and opened the window. The bird wasn’t one that he’d seen before and one look at the envelope told him that it was in fact not from the Ministry as it was missing the seal. A frown crept up over his lips as he took the letter and thanked the owl.

He unfolded the letter carefully and his eyes all but popped out of his head as he fell back into his chair. He recognised the writing instantly without even needing to read the name.

Oliver.

Oliver wanted to see him. His breath caught in his throat as he read the words over and over again. He wanted to grab his quill and ink, to scribble down a reply as quickly as possible and send it off with the bird who was now sitting on his desk and trying to make friends with a small cactus that was sitting there, but he couldn’t. He couldn't even seem to move in that moment.

Audrey’s words kept ringing in his ears, reminding him about his children. He knew they were old enough to make their own decisions now, that their mother wasn’t going to be able to keep them from him if he did choose to leave Audrey after all, but he was still scared that he would end up losing them.

He sat for a while as he continued to stare at the letter, quietly thinking it over. He supposed that if he was being rational about things, then he could stay with Audrey until summer when the girls came home, then he could talk to them in person, make sure that they understood. Maybe then he wouldn’t lose his entire family in one swoop.

Eventually he managed to make himself move to his desk where he inked a reply. He would go and talk to Oliver, talk things over, make him understand that while he wanted to be with him, it wasn’t as simple as that. He let out a sigh as he tied the letter to the owl’s leg. Why couldn’t things ever be simple?


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver meets Percy in the park so they can have a real conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter actually hurt a little to write...
> 
> Thanks to SethWren and Iconic-Princess for betaing!

Oliver couldn’t understand why Percy had asked to meet in a park instead of a cafe or even one of their homes. Well, he supposed that he could understand why Percy’s home would be off limits. He didn’t know if the ginger man had told his wife anything or if the woman even knew about him to begin with, but a park still didn’t sound like the best place for any sort of conversation. It was freezing for a start, but Oliver was used to that. It just didn’t make him feel very secure when he was already fidgety from his nerves.  
He found a bench near the edge of the park, his eyes scanning the area for any sign of Percy as he pulled his sleeves down over his hands and twisted them over and over again. As a rule, Oliver didn’t get nervous, but there was just something about Percy that always seemed to get to him, even after a quarter of a decade of not seeing each other.  
It would have been strange, managing to avoid each other for such a long time, had Percy not spent time in the muggle world. Oliver liked to believe that Percy hadn’t been avoiding him, but looking back he realised that the reality was that he probably had been.  
His breath caught in his throat when he saw Percy walking towards him and he realised that he’d been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn’t even noticed him arrive. He looked troubled which didn’t help Oliver’s nerves at all but he pushed that to the back of his mind for now. Percy was there and that was all that mattered.  
“Hi.” He said quietly once Percy was within hearing distance. “Thanks for - uh..” He trailed off as he gestured vaguely before he patted the bench next to him.  
Percy gave him a slight smile as he sat down. There was something about him that Oliver just couldn’t seem to put his finger on but he didn’t seem to lead with whatever was going on so Oliver decided not to push.  
“Recovered from the other night?” He asked instead, knowing that he’d barely managed to feel normal before he went to sleep last night, though he knew that his hangover was probably exaggerated by his whirlwind of emotions.  
“Yeah, I guess so. Kinda slept yesterday away.” Percy said quietly and Oliver was sure that he saw a smile flicker across his features, but it was fleeting and disappeared as quickly as it had made an appearance.  
“It’s alright for some, huh?” Oliver chuckled, hoping that he could somehow ease the tension that was attempting to suffocate him. He was starting to regret asking Percy to come here, even if it did make him feel marginally better to just be around Percy.  
Percy let out a low hum. “I - uh - I didn’t exactly sleep after - after the reunion.” He said slowly.  
Oliver dropped his eyes to his shoes for a moment. He didn’t know why it pained him to know that when he should have expected it.  
“I told Audrey I’d seen you.” Percy continued without really reacting to Oliver’s silence which he guessed was for the best, especially considering his breath got caught in his throat at that. “She... She won’t let me leave her. She said… She said I’d hurt my kids… I…”  
Oliver glanced up to see that Percy’s head was in his hands and even though he could feel his own heart breaking, he moved to place a hand on the other man’s back. “Hurt your kids how?” He asked after a moment or two.  
“I don’t know. Maybe with the fact that their dad is well… gay.” Percy sighed though he didn’t move away from Oliver’s touch, which the Quidditch coach was definitely counting as a good sign. “I think…” He began but trailed off with another sigh and a shake of his head.  
“She’ll be in shock.” Oliver said quietly. He was doing his best to understand things from Audrey’s perspective, even if a part of him hated her for keeping Percy from him in the first place.  
“Yeah, I guess so.” Percy said quietly as he turned to look at Oliver. “I - uh - I’m going to talk to the kids myself but I need to wait until they’re home from school. This isn’t something that I can just write about in a letter. I don’t… I don’t even know what I would say…”  
Oliver nodded slightly. He had to agree with that. He didn’t know what to say either. He didn’t know what they were, apart from exes. “I… At least you told Audrey.” He said slowly as he wondered if that would be enough. It technically wouldn’t be cheating now, would it?  
Percy gave him a small smile. “I’m sorry.” He said softly as he moved to lean his head on Oliver’s shoulder.  
Oliver shook his head at that before leaning his head against Percy’s. “Don’t apologise, okay?” He said quietly. “Some things are just outside of our control.” He realised that those words wouldn’t be altogether too comforting considering that the Percy he used to know hated not having any control - a trait that they actually shared.  
Percy was silent for a while, something that Oliver was actually grateful for as it meant that he had a few moments in which he could collect his thoughts. He couldn’t help but feel like this was the end, even when Percy’s words were telling him that there was a chance for them, but not until the future. He pulled in a slow breath before turning his head just slightly to press a kiss to the top of Percy’s head.  
“I don’t… I don’t think I can go back to not having you in my life now, Perce.” He said quietly, his voice shaking ever-so-slightly but he knew that he had to say it, he had to get these words out into the open. “I… Audrey knows - she’s aware that you… If she’s aware that we’re together then it’s not… It’s morally acceptable?” He knew that he sounded extremely rambly but he couldn’t help it.  
Percy pulled back so that he could look at Oliver, his eyebrow raised just slightly and Oliver knew that he was probably thinking that he’d gone insane, but he brushed that thought aside as he waited for Percy to say something, anything.  
“You want to be with me?” Percy sounded more shocked that anything else and Oliver had to ignore how much that pained him to hear.  
“Yeah. I do.” Oliver nodded. “And I’m happy to keep it a secret until you can tell your kids because I think not having you in my life would destroy me.” He swallowed thickly. “I don’t think I would be able to be just your friend either.”  
Percy gave a small nod, which turned into a bigger nod. “Then we’re not friends.” He said, his voice a little shaky but somehow firm at the same time. “We’re… We’re Percy and Oliver.”  
Oliver let out a small laugh. “Percy and Oliver… That sounds pretty perfect to me.” He said softly as he turned to press a kiss to Percy’s cheek. It might not have been everything that he had hoped would come from seeing each other today, but at the same time it was exactly what he had hoped for.  
Percy cupped Oliver’s cheek before leaning forward to press a soft kiss to his lips. Oliver closed his eyes and let out a soft sigh. The kiss didn’t last for long, but it was perfect all the same. He then leaned his forehead against Percy’s. It was in that moment that he realised just how much he had missed the redhead. He didn’t ever want to be separated from the other man again, though he knew that eventually Percy would have to go back to his life.  
They sat together in the park for a while, not saying anything, but then there was nothing that needed to be said just then. They were together and that was enough. For now.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy has a conversation with his youngest daughter Lucy about his relationship with Oliver.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure how long this fic will be but there might only be two more chapters after this until there's a break for a little while....
> 
> Thanks again to SethWren and Iconic-Princess for betaing.

"Where you off to, Bug?" Percy asked his youngest daughter from the doorway of his study. He'd popped his head out when he'd heard someone coming down the stairs. He had hoped that it would be Molly but his eldest daughter hadn't emerged from her room so far this summer.

Lucy had her jacket on so he could only assume that she was going somewhere. He knew that today was however her day off from her internship at the Daily Prophet and while he supposed there could have been a chance that she was meeting up with her friend, she hadn't mentioned it.

"Molls needs ice cream." She said as she reached the bottom of the stairs and stopped opposite him.

"She's spoken to you?" Percy asked slowly. He knew that she'd been dumped but Molly hadn't even told him this herself, he'd had to get that information from Lucy. He hadn't heard Molly talk at all since she came home, which of course made the whole process of telling both his children about his new boyfriend very tricky indeed.

"Kinda." Lucy said with a small shrug. "She mostly just cried at me but I figure I can't go wrong if I get her ice cream."

Percy couldn't help but smile a little. Lucy was always looking out for her big sister and it warmed his heart to see that - though he did often wish that Molly would show the same sort of compassion in return. He couldn't say that he was pleased that she had had her heart broken - he knew just how much that could hurt - but he was definitely pleased to see the back of that good for nothing boyfriend of hers.

Once upon a time, Molly had been his precious little angel. She was still ever-so-precious to him, but he couldn't deny that their relationship had changed significantly over the last few years. She'd avoided spending time with family, and when she had, she'd brought  _ him _ with her.

Percy got the impression that his family life had been very different to his own, but he didn't know anything about the boy and Molly wasn't exactly forthcoming with any information about him.

He supposed that he could ask Lucy; he knew that she was a great source, but it didn't seem right to go and ask her about her sister's boyfriend. He didn't want Molly to think that he was snooping in her private business either.

"Want some company?" He asked as he closed the study door behind him. He wasn't going to be able to focus on any of his work now, not when his thoughts were bouncing between Oliver and Molly.

"Uh. Sure." Lucy was a little hesitant in her reply and Percy realised that was probably because he didn't often do things like that with his children. It was often the case that he was far too busy to spend time with his girls during the holidays.

Percy gave her a smile before he grabbed his jacket off the bannister and then followed Lucy out of the house. A voice in the back of his mind couldn't help but ask if he should just tell her about Oliver without Molly being there. Maybe it would actually be easier in the long run to tell them individually. He couldn't help but play with that idea as they walked down the street.

Somehow Percy had found himself actually sitting with Lucy at Fortescue's. It was a strange turn of events; he was used to Molly telling him that he wasn't cool enough to spend time with, and generally Lucy just kept to herself. He wasn't going to complain though. It had been nice to have her actually talk to him for once, to have her trust him with anything from the life she had previously tried to keep separated from her family.

It bode well when he had something that he wanted to trust her. He just didn't know how he was meant to start the conversation in the first place. He was quite glad of the ice cream just then, mostly to give him something to put in his mouth so he wouldn't just blurt out his new found romance in one of the most insensitive ways.

"Lucy." He began eventually when she stopped talking about her internship and left a silence hanging between them. "There's something I want to tell you. I wanted to tell you and your sister together, but it doesn't look like she's in a place to hear this just now."

Lucy looked up at him, an eyebrow raised in a way that told him that she probably already knew what he wanted to say. She had a way of knowing these things that Percy had never wanted to question for fear of him then knowing too much. He knew that he had control issues, and that was actually something that he had tried to work on over the last few years, especially with both his daughters being as headstrong as they are.

He pressed on regardless. He knew that the words had to be said aloud. "Your mother and I are separating. She isn't happy about this but I can't keep hiding who I am, not from you or Molly, and certainly not from myself." He paused for a moment to take in a breath. "I am seeing someone new. A man."

When he met Lucy's gaze, he noted that she didn't look surprised in the slightest. She even appeared to be smiling ever-so-slightly but he did have to wonder whether that was a trick of the light. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen his youngest daughter smile - it just wasn't something that she did all that often.

"I'll tell Molly as soon as she's feeling better." He added when Lucy didn't say anything. "Somehow I thought that this might seem like a kick in the teeth if I dropped it on her now."

Lucy gave a slight nod. "I think that's for the best, yes." She agreed. "But don't leave it too long, Dad. I like seeing you happy."

Percy blinked rapidly at that. He was sure that she didn't mean that as a jab, though it was hard to read her sometimes. Her tone gave absolutely nothing away, which was what he was used to but often he wished that sometimes she would let him in. This was one of those times, that was for sure, but the fact that she had told him that she was happy for him made his heart melt just that little bit.

"Thank you, Bug." He said softly as he pressed a kiss to his daughter's cheek. It made him feel so much better to know that she wasn't hurt or angry like Audrey had tried to convince him she would be - which honestly made him a little frustrated with his wife, but that was a matter for later. Lucy definitely didn't need to get caught in the middle of her parent's marital struggles. She definitely didn't deserve that.

Lucy shook her head at his thanks. "Please don't." She said softly and Percy got the impression that there was something that the girl wasn't telling him but he knew better than to push her into telling him anything. She was not that sort of person and he didn't want to ruin the conversation.

Instead of commenting he simply spooned another mouthful of his quickly melting ice cream into his mouth. His take on today was that everything had gone pretty well - he just hoped that Molly would react nothing like Audrey expected her to as well.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver meets with Percy who has some news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I reached the point for a break a little early. This fic will now go into hiatus while I work on Molly's story a little bit...
> 
> Thank you to my betas SethWren and ladyblackpotterpeveral for going through this chapter for me <3

"Pregnant?" Oliver asked, his eyes widening as he listened to Percy. They'd met up as they did every Friday for coffee and his boyfriend had dropped this bombshell on him.  
"Yeah. So I can't talk to her about us just yet. I know I keep saying that I will soon but I - I've never seen her like this before." Percy said quietly, prompting Oliver to.reach across the table to take his hand and give it a gentle squeeze.  
"It's okay. I can wait." He promised him with a small smile. He didn't know how long he was going have to wait for and while he knew that he was willing to wait forever, he hoped that it wouldn't be that long. "How is she?"  
"She's a mess." Percy said with a soft sigh. "I thought she was a mess at the start of the summer but this proved me wrong. She's… The Malfoy boy is there for her, so that's at least something but he'll be going back to school soon, so will Lucy and that'll just leave her with me and her mother. I don't think she feels that she can talk to us - and I know that's because we've never been big fans of that boyfriend of hers."  
"Has she managed to get in touch with him yet?" He asked slowly. He wanted to ask what Percy's daughters plans were for the baby but he decided against that. It wasn't his place to talk about Percy's children really but he wanted to be part of their lives almost as much as he wanted to be part of Percy's life. It was a little bit trippy for him to think about the fact that Percy was now going to be a grandparent - he couldn't believe that they were that old.  
"No, not yet." Percy sighed again. "I'm doubting she will, and I'm hoping she won't. She's going to give the baby up, or at least that's what she's told Audrey that she wants to do."  
Oliver gave a small nod. There was something about Percy's tone that told him that he wasn't quite on board with that idea, but from what he had heard Molly was in no fit state to raise a child. Either way, it was the girl's decision to make and all Percy (and Audrey) could do was support their daughter. He gave Percy's hand a gentle squeeze as he attempted to reassure him, though honestly he didn't know how he was meant to do that. He didn't have any experience with children, let alone grandchildren. The closest thing he had to a family like that was his team - they were probably the closest thing that he would ever have to children of his own as well.  
"I'm sure she knows what she's doing." Oliver said softly in what he hoped was a reassuring sort of way, though the look on Percy's face said otherwise.  
"That'd be the day." He said with a soft sigh. "Want a refill?" He asked with a nod towards Oliver's coffee.  
"Yeah, please." Oliver watched Percy as he went to refill their coffees and decided just to let his boyfriend take a few moments to regroup. He couldn't imagine that it was easy going for him at home just now, not with Audrey still actively fighting to keep him from leaving her and him having to pretend to still be with her in front of his family. Before the kids had come home from school, they'd fallen into the routine of Percy staying over at Oliver's every Friday, but they'd had to settle for coffee dates instead.  
Percy returned, pressing a kiss to Oliver's cheek as he sat down. And then as if he had read Oliver's mind, he said, "I don't know how long this is going to go on for, Ollie. It could… it could be a while. But I don't want to go back to missing you either. I was hoping I could stay over this weekend?"  
Oliver pursed his lips. He wanted nothing more than to say yes but he didn't think that he should be condoning or encouraging Percy to lie, especially not to someone that he cared so much about. "Are you sure?" He asked slowly. In the end, it was Percy's decision and he wouldn't stop him if that was what he wanted to do.  
"Yeah. Molly's meant to be going on some camping trip with her friends and Lucy's probably going to be at her internship." Percy nodded, flashing Oliver a smile.  
Oliver wished that made him feel better, but in actual fact it just made him feel like Percy was using him to avoid spending any time with his wife. Oliver tried his hardest to push that thought away - Percy wanted to be with him and he had to make himself believe that or all this would be for nothing. He couldn't even begin to imagine how he would feel if he discovered that he had opened his heart up again only to have it crushed.  
Oliver mirrored Percy's nod and gave his hand a squeeze. He had to somehow convince himself to relax or he was sure to accidentally ruin their date and marr the time limited time that they actually got to spend with each other.

Oliver only really bothered to cook properly when Percy came to stay so he supposed that it was a good idea that his boyfriend was having a sleepover, even if it was an attempt at escaping Audrey. He tried to ignore that ever present thought as he chopped up some veggies for their Bolognese and threw them in the pan. Percy was sat at his kitchen table with a stack of paperwork that he apparently needed to get through. He tried to remind himself that Percy could easily do his paperwork at home, that he'd chosen to do it in Oliver's presence, but he couldn't help his rising sense of paranoia. It was something that he had been struggling with for a while, and he figured that it was probably due to the fact that he hadn't actually been on a broom in a while. He was sure that a good flight session around the training grounds would do him the world of good. For now, he just had to hope that a meal with his favourite person in the world would do the trick.  
He was so lost in his thoughts that when Percy slammed his file shut, he practically jumped out of his skin, spilling boiling sauce on his hand in the process. He pulled a sharp breath through his teeth as he quickly moved to the sink, letting the cool water soothe his scalding skin. Percy was on his feet in moments, his hands supporting Oliver's arm as he pressed a kiss to the side of his head.  
"I didn't mean to frighten you." He said softly as Oliver allowed himself to lean against him. It didn't hurt too much so that was something that he was grateful for.  
"It's not your fault." Oliver told him honestly. "I think I'm just…" He trailed off. He didn't know how he was meant to explain his anxiety issues to Percy. He wanted to let him in but he knew that his frayed nerves were partially due to their current situation. He had never been good at keeping secrets and having to keep their entire relationship a secret from the world was a task that he wasn't sure that he was able to handle for that much longer.  
"It's okay." He said softly before he went back to the table to grab his wand which he held over Oliver's arm to heal it.  
Oliver swallowed thickly as Percy took over his place at the stove. His anxiety was at least replaced by guilt, though he wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. Either way it was now too late to stop Percy from taking over the cooking of their meal.  
He served it up as well while Oliver cleared the table and put the Wizarding Wireless Network on so that they would have some background noise while they ate. It was nice to be able to eat together for the first time in a while, and then after dinner they took to Oliver's bed where they happily set up with a DVD and cups of hot chocolate.  
Oliver managed to get his emotions under control eventually as he snuggled up against Percy. He definitely felt a lot better as he was able to be able to breathe in the familiar smell of his boyfriend. He even found that his eyes were closing as they lay there and he was soon fast asleep, having drifted off to the sounds of the movie and Percy's heart beating in his chest.


End file.
